There are many situations where it would be convenient to have available a way to separately identify a person, such as a health care patient, with his/her possessions or other related items with which the person needs to be associated. As this is written, the recent events of the tragedy of Sep. 11, 2001 have provided a glaring example of one such situation. In that situation, it became evident that there was no convenient way to associate people desperately in need of health care with their belongings. Even more horrifying was the need to identify body parts, tag them, and assemble some kind of data base that could be used to sort through the confusion and chaos created on that terrible day. Under those circumstances, and many other similar emergency circumstances, the health care workers and the emergency workers are under tremendous time pressure, with protective clothing such as gloves being used to avoid personal danger to themselves, to sort through what is presented to them in the way of victims needing medical attention, their possessions including valuables, and a need to communicate with their family. The environment is usually hostile, with what may be fire, flying debris, collapsing buildings, un-breathable air, etc. which makes it quite different from a usual hospital or other controlled environment and makes handling any “standard” form imminently more difficult.
Another aspect to the situation that must be considered is that it is not uncommon for different care takers to handle a single victim. Generally, when a victim is first attended, he is categorized for the nature and extent of his injuries. Then, in those situations where there is a mis-match between the number of victims and the number of medical personnel, the most severely injured are attended to first and the remainder are treated as time becomes available. This is routine, and an attempt to minimize loss of life in what can be a desperate situation. Thus, it is commonly required to “triage” the victims, and then identify them in some way that makes it immediately apparent to medical workers just what their medical situation is. This sounds easy, but in the chaos of these situations, even with medical personnel who are well trained, there can be lost time in this process and if a good strategy is not used for this classifying, victims can be mis-identified or their status not readily ascertainable after classification, so that the precious time of these “angels of mercy” can be needlessly wasted as they move from one victim to another.
This type of emergency situation creates needs that are unique, beyond the needs of a form intended for use in a clean environment available in an emergency room. As mentioned, medical personnel are usually wearing gloves and in a hurry. Thus, any form that would be used must be adapted to be easily handled with clumsy fingers. There is no time for instruction, so the form must be virtually intuitive for use. There are commonly fluids present, unfortunately most often blood and other body fluids, so the form must be protected. There needs to be a simple, fast, fool-proof way to apply the form to the victim, and his possessions, with a reliable way to link them together. There is a further need to be able to quickly collect the identifying information from the form as it is attached to a victim so he may be processed quickly and the information accurately collected. The identifying information commonly needs to be thought out in advance, and might even be pre-coded to mesh with the triage operation so that merely knowing the identifying information conveys some information about victim medical status. And, there is desirably some flexibility available in use of the form to accommodate different victim conditions.
Still another need exemplified by this tragedy is that of providing information to families and other loved ones. After the 9/11 event, it was well publicized that family members and others resorted to walking the streets, following any rumor, visiting geographically separated emergency medical care sites, asking for information if not finding their loved one. This itself caused much anxiety and pain amongst the survivors. While not as critical as getting information about survivors to their families, this inability to assemble information created other problems including the inability to gauge the magnitude of the tragedy. A complete list of the survivors was impossible to assemble for days, even though information was individually available by then. There just was not a convenient way to assemble this information in a common data base. Some attempts were made to use the internet, but inaccuracies abounded and the information posted there was soon being ignored, at least partly due to the lack of confidence in that information.
To solve these and other needs in the prior art, the inventor herein has previously developed a business form as disclosed and claimed in one of the parents in several embodiments and a method incorporating the use of that form that have particular application to these kind of medical emergency situations. Briefly, a first embodiment of the form comprises a carrier sheet of paper stock, with a wristband/label assembly die cut thereinto for separation from the carrier sheet. The paper stock is preferably pre-printed with identifying indicia, color coded and covered top and bottom with a layer of protective coating which may preferably be a poly plastic. The wristband/label assembly may be dry adhered to a bottom layer of a carrier film so that it may be readily separated from the carrier without retaining any adhesive. The wristband portion of the assembly may have a tab on one end and a long strap portion which, to be assembled, is wrapped around an object such as a victim's wrist, looped back through a “cinch” comprising a slot in the tab and then adhered to itself by an adhesive portion at the end of the strap portion. The tab preferably has a plurality of individually separable labels die cut thereinto, with each of the labels and the wristband having an identifying indicia which may preferably be a bar code. In the embodiment disclosed in one of the parent applications, the slot is inboard of the labels while in the embodiment first disclosed herein the slot is outboard of the label carrying portion of the tab. Furthermore, the embodiment first disclosed herein is narrower, more streamlined, and eliminates the medical indicia making the wristband/label form more universally applicable as a simple identifier. Some of the other embodiments first disclosed herein include the narrower, single ply, non-laminated strap portion while relying on adhesive coated tabs to secure the wristband about the wrist.
In use, the wristband/label assembly of the parent is separated from the carrier, carrying the tab filled with labels, and the strap portion. The cinch slot is die cut and formed as the assembly is separated with its filler piece adhered to remain behind with the bottom film carrier sheet. The strap portion has its end covered with a laminated bottom patch so that as it separates it carries with it a peel away covering over its end having the adhesive. After being separated from the carrier, the wristband/label assembly has a protective layer over both its top and bottom for resisting fluid contamination and the tab has a label section which may be perforated for separation from the wristband. Each of the labels are individually separable and carry the identifying indicia. The wristband may preferably be color coded, and the forms may be made in sets with multiple ones of each of a number of different colors. Alternately, color coded, perforated tabs may be provided at the end of the tab portion, such that the medical technician need only separate one or more tabs, leaving as the outside tab the correct one to visually indicate the condition of the victim. A blank tab is preferably provided at the very edge of the tab portion so that no one would mistakenly interpret the failure to separate a tab as a conscious attempt at indicating medical condition. In still another embodiment, the medical indicia may be eliminated and the strap portion streamlined to allow for a more generic use of the form for merely indicating identity of the patient or other individual for other purposes than medical. The wristband may be readily applied by wrapping the strap portion about the person's appendage, slipping it through the “cinch” comprising the slot to tighten it about the appendage, pulling it tight, and then folding the strap portion back onto itself for attachment with the adhesive after removing the peel away covering.
In a second embodiment as shown and described in one of the parent applications hereto, the wristband/label assembly is pre-printed and formed in its final configuration, with a tab/label portion and a strap portion made from preferably four layers. A top, clear film layer overlies and protects a face stock layer upon which the pre-printed information including bar codes and color “condition” codes are applied. A layer of adhesive then joins the face stock to a base film material, again to protect the face stock in use. In either embodiment, more than one slot, or “cinch” point, may be provided to allow for a snug fit to different sized body parts. Also, more or fewer bar coded labels, of smaller or larger size, may be selected for use to suit a designer's preferences or user's needs. And, as explained above, the slot may be outboard of the label portion, thereby making the wristband easier to attach to a person, and without sacrificing integrity as the underlying web provides more than adequate strength for maintaining the wristband in its intended use.
In the method of the parent invention, once a form has been applied to a victim, and the victim thus associated with an identifying indicia, and his possessions properly tagged, software pre-loaded into a computer may then receive as much information about the victim as is available. Items of information might include his associated color code (which would preferably be indicative of his medical condition), his name and other demographic information, his statistics such as height, weight, race, etc., more detailed information as to the nature of his injuries or condition, the location where this victim is processed, and other appropriate information. The computer may then go on-line, or be on-line, and the data set up-linked to a web site. A plurality of treatment centers could each be simultaneously processing victims, and transmitting data to the web site for ready access and display to anyone interested in learning about a victim's condition. As a victim's condition changes, updated information could be provided to the web site, although it is considered by the inventor that the method of the parent is most effective in providing early information as fast as possible to the most people. Updated information could be available more directly as a victim's family locates and goes to where treatment is being given. Security in the web site and data links would prevent any mischief from occurring which might compromise the integrity of the data such that families could rely on the information posted.
As can be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, there is unfortunately need for the parent invention given the heightened risk of terrorism that the world now faces, and along with that arises an increased need to facilitate not only the quick processing of victims but also the task of collecting and disseminating information about these victims. The parent invention addresses these needs, which in actuality are long felt needs exacerbated by our changing times. Accordingly, the foregoing provides a brief description of some of the advantages and features of the parent invention. A fuller understanding may be attained by referring to the drawings and description of the preferred embodiment of the parent which follow for the readers understanding.
The inventor has taken several of the features of the parent invention and used it to build onto his prior work in the wristband art as exemplified by the following patents issued to the inventor herein, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,438,881; 6,067,739; 6,000,160; and others still pending. In his invention as disclosed and claimed in the more recently filed second patent application referenced above, he has incorporated the “cinch” of the parent into a self laminating wristband form in a unique and non-obvious way to provide many advantages and features not hereto available. Although the second parent's invention is exemplified in several embodiments as explained in greater detail below, each of which has its own unique advantages and features, it represents a departure from the construction found in the inventors prior patents. Some of the differences include the use of a single, preferably narrow, strap portion extending generally from one side of the face stock region, with the cinch comprising a slot located on either side of the face stock and either adjacent the top or bottom portion of the laminating portion that overlies the face stock. With this construction, it is thought that several advantages are obtained over the wristband construction of his prior inventions. First, in this invention the inventor uses less face stock resulting in a smaller area of the form needing to be over-laminated. In other words, in the inventor's prior patented wristbands, virtually the entire length of the wristband comprised face stock, all of which was over-laminated. In the more recent parent invention, preferably only a “patch” of face stock is used which does reduce the amount of space for printing but which at the same time reduces the size of the over-lamination “patch” needed. This smaller over-lamination “patch” is much easier for a nurse or other medical professional to fold over and complete the assembly, and thus apply the wristband to the patient. A related advantage is that by eliminating the face stock from the “strap portion” that surrounds the patient's wrist, this strap portion may be narrower and formed from a single layer of the lamination (with no adhesive applied). This is more comfortable to the patient for several reasons. The strap is narrower, thereby being less likely to bind or press into the patient's skin as he moves his wrist in doing daily living activities. The strap is also thinner as it is formed from only a single layer and may thus be more flexible. In this construction, a thinner laminate may be used than in prior designs which increases the patient's comfort. Patient comfort is an important consideration as patient's in hospitals are generally uncomfortable to begin with, being out of their ordinary environment, and those in need of hospital care are generally infirm, older or younger such as prenatal, and their skin may be more sensitive than normal. So, this is an important design criteria.
Still another advantage comes through incorporation of the cinch in this design. The cinch preferably comprises a slot which may be located in one of several places in the wristband, but it offers several unique advantages. First, if need be, the cinch may be used to more easily apply the wristband to a patient as it gives the nurse a ready attachment fixture with which he/she is quite familiar, it being much like an ordinary belt worn by almost everyone, male and female. For those patients who may be uncooperative or thrashing about or otherwise resistive, applying the wristband amounts to getting the strap through the slot and after that is achieved the rest needed to be done is relatively simple. For those patients who need to be tightly banded, the cinch provides a ready means to tighten down the strap and keep it tight while the cinch and strap are adhered in place. This allows for a simpler built in adjustment in strap length than with the prior designs. The cinch may be located in one of several places in the band, and each location offers its own unique advantages. If located intermediate the face stock and the strap, the face stock is converted into a “hang tag” which hangs freely from the patient's wrist after it is applied. This aids the nurse in finding and reading the information printed on the face stock, and also makes it easier for her to read imprinted indicia on the face stock with a hand held bar code reader, for example, as the surface is flat. Also, with this arrangement, a smaller strap is readily provided for smaller wrists such as with new-born babies. If the slot is located outboard from the face stock, the face stock hugs the patient's wrist much more like a conventional wristband, and an extra area of fold over laminate may be used to adhere the strap in place, making for a more secure attachment. Either arrangement would be desirable depending on the particular application, and is left to the user's choice.
As alluded to above, the strap portion is adhered in one of several ways, depending on the embodiment chosen. If the cinch is intermediate the face stock and strap, the end of the strap has a patch of adhesive which is used to adhere it back onto itself after being threaded through the slot. With the cinch outboard of the face stock, an “extension” of laminate is used which may carry adhesive along with a fold line through the slot so that after the strap is threaded through the slot the extension may be folded about the fold line and “clamp” the strap in place with adhesive. This provides a second means for adhering the strap in place.
The face stock layer has a printable region or ply defined therein with a die cut while the lamination layer has three elements die cut in to it. The lamination layer has a strap portion, a laminating portion, and a cinch portion all die cut therein, with adhesive being applied to preferably the extreme end of the strap portion for securing the strap to itself after the wristband has been applied, adhesive applied to the lamination portion to substantially, and preferably entirely, surround and enclose the face stock printable region, and adhesive applied to a cinch portion (if located outboard of the face stock) for adhering to the strap portion after it is passed through the cinch. Adhesive may preferably be omitted from the portion of lamination that overlies the face stock to improve it's readability, both visually and for bar coding. In variations to this embodiment, the cinch, which is preferably a slot aligned generally perpendicular to the face stock, may be located in one of several places, either outboard of the face stock region or intermediate the face stock and the strap portion. When positioned outboard of the face stock, the cinch may also be located in one of two places either in an extension of the lamination adjacent a top portion or the bottom portion of the lamination portion. When positioned intermediate the face stock and strap portion, the cinch may be formed from a pair of slots located in both the top and bottom portion of the lamination portion. In this arrangement, adhesive is applied to join the top and bottom lamination portions, but it does not aid in holding the strap in position unless the nurse takes the time and is able to obtain the cooperation of the patient to thread the strap through only one of the slots before folding the lamination halves together to enclose the face stock. However, this is thought to be a less desirable attachment arrangement than first enclosing the face stock and then threading the strap through the slot.
As an added feature, the inventor has previously developed an extender which is also formed in the same two plies of material, with the extender comprising a length of laminate having a fold over or “clamshell” portion with adhesive at one end, and a patch of adhesive at its opposite end. The extender is sized preferably to be of the same width as the strap portion and is applied to the strap portion by use of the clamshell which clamps onto the strap portion and along its length, with the extender patch of adhesive serving the function of joining the strap. With the extender, the wristband may be used with larger patient's, conveniently, without being limited to the overall length of the form or carrier in which the wristband is formed.
In variations of these embodiments previously disclosed in the parent applications, the wristband may be formed in a sheet with a plurality of self adhering, peel off labels, all of which may be printed with identifying indicia or information relating to the patient. Several wristbands of different size, or the same size, may also be formed on a single sheet, with or without labels. The extender may also be provided in any one or more of the variations, which are only limited by the perceived needs of users, and design choice.
The parent applications disclosed forms that have been modified to provide even greater choice and advantage depending on the particular situation for which the wristband is needed. As an example, one form showed an arrangement where the cinch slot is outboard of the label portion, on a tab, and has eliminated the medical indicia thereby making the form more streamlined and suitable for use in a wider range of applications. Several arrangements for the label portion have also been shown as providing a variety of choices to suit different applications depending on the number of labels needed, and all without sacrificing the integrity of the form. As in other forms previously disclosed, bar coding or other means of identifying or numbering or segregating the forms have been shown.
With respect to the second general category of wristband forms, the inventor has provided a tab at an end adjacent the face stock area, with the tab having a second slot surrounded by adhesive and through which the tail or free end portion is inserted for joining the wristband about the person wearing it. After the free end is inserted, the slot is preferably folded over about a fold line, and the free end is captured and adhered in place. The remaining free end may then be inserted through the second slot and hidden beneath the face stock out of the way and less likely to be caught on something. This arrangement allows for the extra free end to be kept intact so that the wristband may later be re-adjusted in length by merely lifting the folded over tab and withdrawing the free end for re-positioning. As an added feature, the face stock is preferably extended to the edge of the outboard slot to thereby cover over the adhesive closest to where the free end slides through, thereby making it less likely to “hang up” on adhesive as the wristband is applied. Furthermore, as the adhesive is applied to the area surrounding the second slot, it need not be applied as a patch on the tip of the free end as in other embodiments disclosed in the parent applications. Thus, as the free end is inserted through the slot, there is no patch of adhesive to inadvertently grab a patient's skin or body hair again making this embodiment less likely to “hang up” on the patient as it is applied. Instead, the adhesive is placed on a surface facing away from the patient.
As disclosed in the parent applications, slots have been provided on each side of the face stock and through both of which the free end may be inserted. In this arrangement the face stock area overlies the free end, and the face stock area becomes less “rounded” than in other embodiments where only a single slot is used. This aids in reading the information placed on the face stock, and can be important in aiding this information should it be bar coded information. Also, with the two slot arrangement, the same form may be applied in different ways which enhances its versatility. This may be especially important for those applications where a single form may be intended to be used on different body parts of a patient. One such example is the Neo-natal, Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where wristbands are desirably applied not only to the leg but also the arm. In this application, the same wristband may be applied to different parts of the body, the leg and arm, and depending on size either one slot or both slots may be used to allow for patient comfort and ready accessibility to the imprinted information. However, even with the need to accommodate differently sized arms and legs, the same form may be used thereby minimizing inventory requirements and eliminating the waste or extra cost of using more than one sheet of wristbands.
The inventor has continued his work and developed several new embodiments of wristband forms, which draw upon the inventor's past designs and provide different arrangements and which in some instances will improve upon the readability of the print area so as to improve scanning and automated data input functions. One embodiment provides a change in the aspect ratio of the print area such that a laminated “badge” is created with a pair of narrower strap portions extending from the sides of the badge for attaching the wristband to the patient's wrist. This design may be achieved by either narrowing the width of the strap portions or by widening the face stock area which separates from the form, or the imaging area, or by doing some combination thereof. With this design, the imaging area may be enlarged to allow more information to be printed thereon, or to allow for an increased font size to enhance the readability of the information printed. With a smaller strap portion, the wristband may be more comfortable over wristbands with wider strap portions as well. By creating a “badge” for receiving the printed information, the wearer and any one wishing to access the printed information may more easily find the portion of the wristband containing the information due to its different and larger shape. In fact, in low level lighting, this different shape is even more useful for locating the information, and it is not uncommon for low level lighting conditions to exist as the patient is attended during the night. As the width is increased, a shorter length imaging area may be used and the imaging area may still receive and clearly display the patient information of interest. This reduced length imaging area allows the “badge” to be more naturally oriented on the top or bottom of a patient's wrist, and more likely lie flat against the wrist to thereby substantially reduce the curvature of the imaging area. This facilitates visual as well as automated reading of the indicia in the imaging area including, for instance, the scanning of bar codes. This same design is also provided in a less pronounced “badge” with a slimmer longer length imaging area version as well. Variations of this arrangement are also disclosed herein including forming the strap potions immediately to each side of the imaging area, providing a different silhouette for the different strap portions and especially at the transition from the imaging area, etc, as shown in the drawings and described below.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides enhanced readability of the print area with improved patient comfort by forming the imaging area or print area (typically face stock) with an enlarged portion, preferably located at one end of the usually rectangular shaped imaging or print area. “Rectangular shaped” or “rectangularly shaped” is intended to include rectangular, parallelogram, or similar shapes having two pairs of opposing sides with a longer dimension along one pair than another, but perhaps with rounded or shaped or angled corners for example, or a print area having an asymmetrical or a symmetrical configuration such as a square, or other approximately rectangular shape. This “bulged” area is preferably arranged as an enlarged width at one end of the generally rectangular imaging or print area, although it could be formed at any other location along the length thereof. In this arrangement, the imaging area preferably has a generally “L”-shape that accommodates the transverse printing of more information than with the simple rectangular print area. By printing information transversely across the print area, the information lies along the length of the arm as opposed to across the wrist and is thus more likely to lie flat. When a bar code is used and printed on the bulged area, this flat orientation is expected to render the bar code more “readable” than if printed across the length of the imaging area. In the art, bar codes are commonly referred to as either “picket fence” when arranged to be read horizontally, and “ladder” when arranged to be read vertically. With the print or imaging area having a bulged rectangular shape, both or either of ladder or picket fence bar codes of a length commonly used in a health care application may be printed thereon and later reliably read with relative ease. This bulged rectangular construction is also designed with a bulged rectangular overlay to be self laminating and the wristband includes a cinch slot and strap for securing the wristband.
Other new embodiments include various new arrangements of the lamination layer and strap arrangements formed in the laminating layer. For example, the straps may be formed on the different halves of the imaging area over-lamination portion, instead of on the same half. Or, the straps may be both formed on the over-laminating half of the laminating layer. Still another new feature is the security seal which comprises a separate length of laminating layer which may be removed and applied to overlie the attachment point of the main straps. It provides a secondary seal and substantially secures the wristband, making it much more difficult for a patient to remove the wristband. Also, the security seal has a number of die cut X's in it so that once applied, its removal will likely result in it being torn apart or destructed. This destructed security seal is then visual evidence of a tampering with the wristband joinder and is an alert to a nurse that the patient has tampered with his identifying wristband and the nurse needs to re-verify the patient's identity before administering any medicine, providing treatment or taking patient parameters such as blood pressure, etc.
In another aspect of the present invention, the inventor has developed a form including a detachable, self-laminating wristband, and preferably a plurality of self-adhering labels which may be used for a variety of functions related to assisting healthcare providers in collecting a patient's blood specimen, and matching, ordering, and tracking blood products for a patient. For instance, the labels may be printed with information that may be used for tracking a patient's blood specimen from collection to testing in the laboratory, and from ordering blood products from a blood bank to ensuring that the ordered blood products are the correct products to be administered to a patient. The form may have labels and/or a wristband that assists healthcare providers in tracking the number of units of blood given to a patient. Preferably, the wristband and self-adhering labels are provided with a unique identifying bar code so that the wristband and/or form facilitates healthcare providers in providing electronic verification of blood products with a patient to minimize dangerous and wasteful misadministration of expensive blood products.
While the principal advantages and features of the present invention have been explained above, a fuller understanding of the invention in all of its various embodiments may be attained by referring to the drawings and description of the preferred embodiments below.